Declining Domestic Frozen Dumplings Market... Harim Challenges with 'Yukjip'

Announcing Entry with 'Deomisik Mandu'
CJ CheilJedang Leads Market Dominance with Bibigo
Industry Turns to Overseas Markets Amid Domestic Saturation
Challenging Conditions Make Difficult Challenges Inevitable

The domestic frozen dumpling market peaked as the consumption of convenience foods increased due to COVID-19 but is now on the decline. CJ CheilJedang, which dominates nearly half of the market share, is also experiencing a gradual decrease in sales. Major companies are turning their attention overseas to strengthen profits. In this situation, Harim, which specializes in meat processing, has thrown down the gauntlet in the dumpling market with a product emphasizing rich meat juice. It remains to be seen whether they can secure competitiveness despite the challenging conditions.

Dummy-style dumplings
Photo by Harim

According to market research firm Market Link on the 12th, last year, the total retail sales of domestic frozen dumplings amounted to 470.3 billion KRW, a drop of more than 20% from the peak of 588.6 billion KRW in 2020. CJ CheilJedang maintains its lead with a market share in the mid-to-high 40% range. As of last year, it recorded sales of 223.5 billion KRW, ranking first with a market share of 47.5%. Its flagship product, "Bibigo," led the market with sales of 215.3 billion KRW.

However, most of the top-tier companies have seen their sales decline slightly over the past three years. CJ CheilJedang’s sales dropped by more than 40 billion KRW from 265.8 billion KRW. Haitai Confectionery, ranked second with its "Gohyang Mandu," saw sales decrease from 103.2 billion KRW to 71.6 billion KRW. Following that, Pulmuone Food, promoting the "Saenggadeuk" brand, saw sales fall from 83.2 billion KRW to 59.7 billion KRW; Dongwon F&B, with its main product "Gaeseong Mandu," dropped from 51.3 billion KRW to 37.9 billion KRW; and Ottogi, competing with its "Premium X.O.," declined from 19.8 billion KRW to 18.6 billion KRW.

An industry insider said, "Many manufacturers are competing with dumpling products, but it is difficult for any to exceed single-digit market shares," adding, "The domestic (dumpling) market is already considered saturated, so leading companies are strengthening their overseas businesses." CJ CheilJedang also earns about 70% of its annual Bibigo dumpling sales, which exceed 1 trillion KRW, from overseas markets including the United States and China.

In this context, Harim recently launched "The Meatsic Dumplings," emphasizing rich meat juice as a competitive edge, and declared its intention to expand the dumpling market through differentiation. They calculated that the meat juice dumpling segment accounts for only about 5.2 billion KRW in the total dumpling market, indicating ample growth potential. Using this as a foothold, they aim to achieve sales of 45 billion KRW within a year and capture a 10% market share.

However, Harim currently has no export plans for The Meatsic Dumplings, so it must compete solely based on domestic performance. Additionally, their premium strategy, pricing the product about 10% higher than the average price of regular frozen dumpling brands, makes it uncertain how much consumer interest it will attract, suggesting a challenging endeavor ahead. A Harim representative explained, "Internal consumer surveys showed that the demand for meat juice in dumpling fillings was as high as 25%," adding, "We focused on targeting the relatively small meat juice dumpling market compared to demand."